A Time to Talk
by pinkbeans
Summary: Korra and Asami relax and have a chat about... things. Pure fluff; no plot... for now. The idea behind this fic actually came from a conversation with someone on tumblr... What would Korra and Asami normally talk about? Why, lots of stuff, I imagine. This and that, here and there. And now here we are.
1. I've always liked liked you

"So... when exactly?"

The night is still young, and the breeze is warm. Snuggled up against Korra's chest with those _arms_ around her, Asami feels _just_ the right amount of warmth and comfort. Listening to and counting Korra's steady heartbeats, she almost dozes off until she hears those three words.

"When exactly?" Asami repeats as she leans even more into Korra's embrace. Opening her eyes slightly, _oh we're still in the gazebo._ They have been sitting there for a while now after they excused themselves after dinner, chatting and cuddling.

Or rather, it started with chatting and cuddling, and turned into more cuddling, less chatting in the past hour or so. Neither of them minded. They still chatted about… things, _like did you read any good book lately, we should go see that new mover, Opal asked us to double date with them, oh Mako's been acting weird lately I think he's got a girlfriend, uh-huh but how do you know it's a girlfriend…_

… things.

"Yeah," _Surely Korra has that adorable lop-sided grin on her face judging by the smile in her voice,_ "I was just wondering, you know, when you started to like me."

 _Ohhhhh._ Asami chuckles softly, "I've always liked you, you know that."

"Nooooo," Korra snickers as her arms around Asami tighten just the slightest bit, "I mean… when you started to _like_ like me."

"Hmmmmm," Asami muses, turning her head slightly around and upward to catch the color rising in Korra's cheeks, "Promise you won't laugh if I tell you."

Korra nods and blows a puff of air gently into her hair, "Airbender's honor."

"Not the hair! "Asami giggles and settles back into the embrace, "I told you my mom used to read me bedtime stories about you all the time, right?"

"By me you mean the avatar, but not me avatar," Korra's hands are now randomly playing with her jacket.

"Sweetie, you weren't born yet." Asami's hands found Korra's and she laced their fingers together, "And yeah, about all of you. Stories about how gallant Wan was, how resourceful Yangchen was, how powerful Kyoshi was, how honorable Roku was, how kind Aang was, and how— well, how much of a _free spirit_ Kuruk was—"

Korra starts snickering again.

"You know what I mean," Asami smiles, "I've been listening to those stories ever since I was a baby, and I own every avatar book ever published. Then a few years later, they found the new avatar—"

"Me," Korra is blowing softly into her hair again.

"Yes, you," Asami pinches one of Korra's fingers gently, "I was just _so_ happy that the new avatar is a little girl just like me, you know? My mom showed me your picture in the newspaper, and you looked so adorable—"

Korra is now pinching her finger back, also gently, "I _know_. Wasn't I a cute kid?"

"Yes, the cutest, you little outie," Asami laughs and squeezes Korra's arm lightly, "I was just so happy, and I think I've always liked you since that day. I have a scrapbook with every article written about you, that's why-" She smiles bashfully and pats Korra's arm affectionately, "when I saw you in the gala, it didn't feel like the first time you know? I felt like I've known you for a long time, and I've _always_ liked you, _liked_ liked you."

She feels Korra's arms tighten around her again as she leans down to kiss her forehead, once, twice and thrice. Gently and affectionately.

"You're so sweet," Korra whispers into her hair.

Asami laughs as she relaxes into the embrace even more, looking up at Korra's _adorable_ smile, "And you're so soft. You make an excellent pillow, the _best_ pillow."

"Always glad to be of service," Korra smirks, _ah, there's that lop-sided grin again._

The night is still young, and the breeze is warm. Still snuggled up against Korra's chest with those arms around her, Asami starts to play with Korra's fingers. "So what about you?" She asks almost absent-mindedly as she affectionately pokes Korra's left ring finger with her own.

"Me? You mean when _I_ started to _like_ like you?" One of Korra's right fingers is now drawing circles on her nose.

"Yes," Her right hand goes up, catches Korra's finger and brings it down to her lips. She kisses the finger.

"Hmmmmm," Korra sounds thoughtful, "That's a really good question."

"Was it when we went into the spirit world?" She kisses that finger again.

"No, it was earlier than that." _Still thoughtful._

"Was it when you called me snazzy?" She is now holding Korra's right hand with her own.

"Nah, still earlier than that."

"Oh?" Asami turns her head slightly up to look at Korra, a bit surprised, "Was it when you wrote to me?"

"Probably even earlier than that," Korra says, "You know what, I don't really know when I started to _like_ like you." She smirks again as she sits up a bit straighter, pulling Asami up as well but still holding her with one arm, "I mean, I know I started to like you as soon as I figured out that I had you pegged wrong, but I can't figure out exactly _when_ I started to _like_ like you."

"Ah, so you've always liked me since?" Asami smiles as she tickles Korra's palm.

"I have," Korra nods, "Maybe I've even _liked_ liked you since. You were always there, you know? Even when I wasn't, you were still there."

"Sweetie," Asami says softly, bringing Korra's palm to her lips again and kisses it, once, twice and thrice. Gently and affectionately. "You've always _liked_ liked me too."

"Yeah, " Korra laughs and holds her even closer, "And I think I'll _always like_ like you."

* * *

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun." - Jane Austen

Thank you for reading! I love Korrasami but never wrote any story for them... well, you gotta start somewhere. This may be a warm-up piece as I try to get the hang of writing for these two amazing characters.

Again thanks for reading! Feedback definitely appreciated. :)


	2. A Bite of Ba Sing Se

"No more cabbage rolls!" Ikki makes a face as she hops on her air scooter... to hand Korra the biggest wok she could find on Air Temple Island.

Oh yeah?" Korra chuckles. With a quick flick of her wrist, the wok goes right into the sink. A stream of water flows seamlessly into the wok with another flick. "I thought you _liked_ those. And you know your mom is gonna say _no bending inside young lady_!"

"I _did_!" Ikki insists. "You wouldn't like it either if you had to eat it every day for a _week_! And she's not even here right now! And you are bending too!"

"I'll have you know that I once had seaweed noodles every day for a _month_ ," Korra shrugs, her mouth pulling into a crooked grin, "And I'm the avatar! And I—hey Asami!"

As if on cue, Asami appears at the kitchen entrance with one huge bag of groceries in her arms, slightly out of breath but smiling softly, "Hi sweetie, hi Ikki. Hot day isn't it?"

In one swift motion, Korra is already at Asami's side, taking the huge bag from her arms. Asami's smile grows bigger as Korra sends a slight puff of air towards her face.

 _No bending inside suuuuuure_. "So what are you making for us tonight?" Ikki loves having Korra and Asami over. It's just so _nice_ to be able to talk to people that aren't Jinora or Meelo for a change.

Well, Jinora used to be fun when she actually wanted to talk about stuff like books or movers or culture or history or even _bending_ or whatever, but now all she wants to talk about is _Kai_. Ack.

Actually, all Jinora wants to do nowadays is talk _to_ Kai. Double Ack.

And there's Meelo... _no._ She would rather talk to Rohan. And he can't even talk yet!

But Korra and Asami are different. They are so _interesting_. They have so many stories to tell, and the way they talk to each other...

Ikki loves _that_ too. She loves listening to Korra and Asami talk to each other.

Korra and Asami are _fun_. The way they talk is fun. The things they talk about are fun.

Grow-up talks are fun, like her parents… _but_ they won't ever let her listen!

But neither would Jinora and Kai, Ikki has to admit. _She didn't really mean to walk in on them though, that was an accident!_

"We'll be making some dumplings," She looks up and sees that Asami has already removed her jacket and now has a blue apron over her shirt, "Korra suggested sujiao, and I think that's a great idea."

"That's like all veggie right?" _Of course it is, they are on Air Temple Island._

"Correct - but we've put in more than that. This time we used chive, tofu, mushroom, vermicelli and egg." Asami flips her hair, ties it back and gestures for Korra to tie the straps behind her back. "It shouldn't take too long. I've already picked up all the wrappers during my lunch break, and the filling has already been prepared and mixed this morning."

"We shall present to you," Korra says proudly, "A Bite of Ba Sing Se. Courtesy of Grandma Yin. Oh and some fresh vegetables, courtesy of us."

 _Definitely better than cabbage rolls_. Ikki sits back comfortably into the high chair by the kitchen counter, pouring herself a glass of lychee juice.

 _It IS a hot day. Time to chill._

The first half hour or so goes by quickly without a lot of chatter, much to Ikki's chagrin. Just the usual _how was your day sweetie, did you pick up everything, is the filling all good, yes here have a taste…_

Nothing juicy _… yet,_ but they're fun to watch. They always grin at each other for no reason, and they look at each other all the time! _Did Asami just blow a kiss at Korra, and did Korra just wink back?_

Just like Jinora and Kai, especially when they think other people aren't watching.

"No, seriously-" Korra's voice suddenly goes up a notch and knocks Ikki out of her stupor, "So I'm like 90% sure Mako has got a girlfriend-"

Korra is now doing what Meelo has named the "Avatar Bending Orchestra." Both of her hands fly up and down rapidly, bouncing and dancing in the air. Her left wrist commands a stream of water washing some cucumbers and tomatoes, right wrist controlling another stream rinsing the wok.

 _Ohhhhhh._ Now Ikki is not sure what to focus on, the _show_ or the _juicy stuff._

"Sweetie, last week you said he's sneaking around with Wu," Asami has already rolled up her sleeves and is now carefully placing dozens of dumpling wrappers on the counter in front of her, exact rows of four by four, with equal distance from each other. She then takes out a container with a lot of _stuff_ inside.

Some green stuff, yellow stuff and white stuff. _Must be the filling they were talking about._

"I _know_ , but hear me out. That is a red herring!"

Another flick, sink turned off. Korra's hands are now once again dancing in the air as the newly washed cucumbers and tomatoes are now being chopped into perfectly proportioned little pieces by two cleavers suspended in thin air.

The two knives dance to the movement of Korra's wrists, moving as fast as Korra's lips, going into details about _how_ exactly it's a red herring.

Asami laughs softly, keeps her eyes on Korra and listens intently, without missing a beat on her part. Her hands, of course, are doing some of their own dancing. She scoops some filling onto the center of each wrapper, pinches and seals, pushes and folds it with perfect precision, one right after another.

 _Looks like she's got the same amount of colors in each one. How does she even do that without looking?_

"I'm telling you, it's gotta be the fire princess." Korra finishes with conviction and makes a fist, biting down on her lower lips. _Flick!_ Knives go right back into the drawer which shuts with a bang.

 _Probably for dramatic measures_. Ikki tries to hide her smile.

"I have it on good authority that they saw a mover together last night! Just the two of them." Korra declares, "Speaking of which we should see that mover too. My source tells me it's good."

"The princess?" There is a pause in Asami's hand movement as she suddenly looks a bit... contemplative.

 _Is that the right word?_ Ikki makes a mental note to look it up later.

"I don't know sweetie," Asami resumes folding but her eyebrows are still furrowed, "I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, but I saw the princess today having lunch with someone that is not Mako—"

She holds up a hand to stop Korra, who is _bursting_ with a thousand questions, "Before you ask, I can only see that person's back from a distance, but they look rather... friendly if you know what I mean. How about we see that mover this weekend? I'll ask Ling to book tickets for us."

Korra opens her mouth, tries, nothing comes out. She tries again.

"D-don't tell me you saw them at Narook's!" Korra exclaims as she grabs some of the remaining wrappers and starts folding as well, "Y-you said that you have a sudden craving for Arctic hen-"

"I did. I picked up some stewed sea prunes for you too, remind me to get it out of the car later."

"Asami, this is a shocking discovery! Do you know what this means!" Ikki doesn't think she's seen Korra this excited since... she cheated and won the scooter race?

"That the princess is not Mako's new girlfriend?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean who cares? That guy you saw was _Wu_! He told me that he's having lunch with a _friend_ in Narook's today!"

 _Scannnnnndal._

Asami stops folding again and looks surprised. She and Korra are doing that annoying thing when they just look at each other back and forth without talking. There is hardly any wrapper left in front of her now.

 _This is gooooood._

This is so much better than that book she took from Jinora's room, that much Ikki is certain. Maybe she'll put it back later without Jinora ever finding out.

Nah. Does Jinora even read anymore?

But this is good. This is better than _The Wedding Feast._ Maybe the princess is dating both of them. Maybe they are all dating each other, or maybe-

Wait. What if this is just like the book?

"What?" "I'm sorry?" Two questions at the same time. And Ikki realizes that she must have said that aloud.

"Maybe this is just like that book. _The Wedding Feast_."

"Yes!" There's now a gleam in Korra's eyes, "Yes. Yes! They are both courting the girl and there's so much scandal but what they really want is each-"

Asami coughs gently, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Korra, heat up the wok please? The dumplings are almost done."

 _Flick._ Water into the wok. _Flick._ Stove is heating up. "By the way, aren't you a little too young to be reading that book?" Korra narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"No! I'm already 11!"

"Sweetie," Asami pats Korra's arm affectionately, "I was only 12 when I read _The Wedding Feast._ " She holds out her hands in front of the sink and blows another air kiss at Korra, who flicks her wrist again and Asami's hands are now being washed.

"What! I read it when I was 16, and the White Lotus guy almost chewed my ear off!" Korra's hand shoots up to her chin, as if stroking an imaginary beard, " _Avatar Korra, this unbecoming behaviour is unacceptable. I implore you, for this book is beneath you. You must not subject your mind to such filth."_

Ikki does not mean to do that, but somehow she spits all the lychee juice out, heading straight towards Asami… who seems unfazed.

 _Flick._ Korra effortlessly bends it back into her glass. _EWWWWWW._

"I didn't know you like romance novels," Asami winks and pats Korra's hand. She does it again, and again, "You only seem to be interested in _some_ of my library collection." S _he's playing with Korra's fingers now._ Ikki is almost sure that she's seen Jinora doing the same thing before.

 _With Kai, of course! Not Korra!_

"Well, it's not like I had a choice…" Korra scratches her head and snickers, "By that time I've already read every single book in the compound except for _A Study of the Imperial Court of Ba Sing Se_. Kya sneaked in _The Wedding Feast_ for me!"

"I didn't even know you like reading that much," Ikki says.

"Well, again, it's not like I had much of a choice? I mean, there's only so much you can do if _nobody_ will agree to a fight anymore, not even a Pai Sho match!"

"Awwwwww," Asami pokes Korra's nose gently, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the compound has a larger library collection than mine."

"You're _not_ wrong," Korra shudders.

"Anyway," Asami extends a hand to Ikki, "I didn't know that you also enjoy reading this much, Ikki. You are welcome to my library at any time."

 _OMGOMGOMG!_

"Really?" Ikki can hardly contain her excitement, "Do you have _Red Girl_?"

"Yes, and also the sequel, the _Scarlet Lady_ series."

"OMG what about _The Jade Dragon_!"

"That too, along with the sequel _The Silver Stallion_. Although for years now I have been searching for the prequel _The Iron Crane_ and have yet to find it." Asami sighs, "It _is_ better to know how the story eventually ended, of course. That being said, I certainly wouldn't mind knowing how the story actually _started_ in the first place."

"So you can't find that book anywhere?" Korra sounds surprised, "Is that book really old or something?"

"Ahem," Pema's head suddenly appears at the kitchen entrance, "Girls I hate to break up the book club, but I can hear the water boiling from _here_ \- did you put the dumplings in yet?"

 _Oops._ Korra and Asami look at each other sheepishly. For some reason Asami bites her lips and pouts, and Korra sticks out her tongue half way.

 _Yep, just like Jinora and Kai._ Again, it's not like she walked in on them on purpose or anything!

"And Ikki, you will not be reading _Scarlet Lady_ until you are at least of age young lady!"

"MOM!" _Fine, there are like a hundred books in the Red Girl series anyway. And there are other ways!_

But for now, it's time for _A Bite of Ba Sing Se._

"By the way Asami," Pema has a huge smile on her face as she hurries over to help dropping dumplings into the wok, "Can I be the first one to borrow _The Iron Crane_ if you ever do find it? I _have_ to know who her father is!"


End file.
